[The Stute] September 23, 2022 (Issue 3, Volume CXX)

Lanternfies fnd a new home on the exterior of UCC Towers

BY

If you’ve stepped outside on campus this week, you’ve probably seen the sprawling graveyards of deceased lan ternfies. They lay on their backs faced towards the sky, wings parted and mangled, sometimes the only rem nants are a rusty red paste. The corpses are sprayed away daily, yet thousands replace the previous de ceased within hours. They cling to the University Cen ter towers, the Howe Center, and some have even spotted in freshman dorms. Stevens has advised everyone to stop emailing complaints about the lanternfies, as they are extremely aware of the sit uation. A notice was sent out via email on Tuesday, September 13 stating, “We

are aware of the infestation of spotted lanternfies on campus, especially in and around the UCC. We have our pest control company spraying daily.” The student body is advised to step on all living lantern bugs.

The lanternfy infesta tion is a nationwide issue, and can by no means be at tributed to mismanagement on Stevens’ part. The U.S. Department of Agriculture states that lanternfies frst arrived in the U.S. in 2014. They have attributed this invasive species’ spread to the fact that lanternfies are “hitchhikers.” The lantern fies lay their eggs on vehi cles, outdoor equipment, and fruit intended for tran sit, which in turn results in the eggs hatching outside of the fies’ quarantine zones.

Quae hires a marketingheadnewof

BY CONTRIBUTINGPAPAGEORGE,EVANREPORTER

In September 2020, Software Engineering ma jor Brendan Probst and computer engineer Samuel Schmitt founded Quae: an interactive voting platform for the students of Stevens and Hoboken citizens to make more of a diference in their community. Quae ofers a place for students to express their opinions, raise concerns, voice issues, and vote on daily discussions. By presenting a system to vote and discuss the problems of Stevens and Hoboken, Quae is working to lower the barriers to making a dif ference in the community.

Recently, Quae hired a new team member to aid in their mission: Head of Marketing CrisRecently,Sosa.

Probst and Schmitt reached out to the community through Linke dIn in search of a head of marketing. While speaking with Probst, he said Quae was looking for help to allow

SEE

Stevens is Once Again Named a Top-100 National University

BY TODD CONTRIBUTORBECHTEL,

Stevens proves with their recent placement on the na tional university rankings that they are an institution on the rise. On September 12, U.S. News & World Re port released their 20222023 ofcial Best National University Rankings, which placed Stevens as the 83rd best university in the na tion. The yearly rankings are determined by a variety of factors, with some of the

most important ones being: faculty compensation, av erage six-year graduation rate of students, and a peer assessment survey flled out by top administrators from schools across the U.S. This year, the publication rated a total of 443 universities in the United States, with New Jersey’s very own Prince ton University placing frst in the 2022-2023 rankings. While the U.S. News rank ings have lost credibility in the eyes of some ofcials since they were frst pub

School of Business launches Inclusive Leadership certifcation

BY TANYA CONTRIBUTINGAVADIA,REPORTER

In an ever-changing world, the workforce is increasingly being built of people from all aspects of life. This creates the need for people to be educat ed on concepts of inclusivity. As a result, the Stevens School of Business has decided to launch the Inclusive Leader ship certifcation program. It is open to all undergraduate business majors and the class of 2026 was the frst group of students to ever participate in this initiative. Students who successfully complete this program will be certifed in practices of inclusive leader ship and will be able to add it as an accredited skill on their resumes and CVs.

The origins of this pro gram can be attributed to the university’s trustees, in cluding President Nariman Farvardin and the School of Business Dean, Dr. Gregory Prastacos. Additionally, Pro fessor Wei Zheng and Pro fessor Peter Dominick were some of the people involved in developing the curriculum of the program. Professor Zheng defnes inclusive lead ership as “practices of foster ing a sense of belongingness and authenticity for all people in a group, organization, or a larger collective.” This serves

as the main idea for what the program hopes to teach. Pro fessor Zheng also explained that the curriculum is meant to be very experimental and interactive. She noted that the frst part of the program is broken down into three parts: “(1) students’ creative expres sions of diversity, equity, and inclusion, (2) students’ social identity exploration where individuals refect on their so cial identities that shape their viewpoints and form poten tial blind spots, and (3) case studies where a problem is outlined and student groups develop an exclusive and an inclusive response.” An ex ample of an exercise that was done during the frst ses sion includes explaining the meaning behind one’s name. This activity allowed students to not only get to know each other but also share aspects of their identity and learn about identity-based diferences.

While this program is geared towards a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiative and educating busi ness students on this matter, its other component is to ob tain a certifcation in inclusive leadership. This is crucial for the current job market be cause employers are not only seeking technical skills but soft skills such as the ability to work in and foster an in clusive culture. Being able to

put an Inclusive Leadership certifcation on one’s resume allows one to become a more well-rounded candidate during the job hunting pro cess. It also allows for height ened awareness of identi ty-based diferences which they can note when trying to work or lead in a more diverse environment. The way for business students to complete the certifcation program is divided into three cate gories: 25 hours of training over 3-5 semesters, portfolio development (which serves as a refection), and relevant projects related to real-world applications. Once students complete these requirements, they will be certifed in inclu siveLearningleadership.and practicing inclusive leadership has many benefts and can be applied to numerous amounts of work places and environments, which is why the Stevens School of Business has opted to start this program. While the business school is the pio neer for this program, Profes sor Zheng noted that there are plans to expand it towards all majors, graduate and under graduate, in the future. Last ly, she explained that interest has also been expressed by faculty and staf at Stevens, to create a similar program ded icated to teaching Inclusive Leadership for the faculty.

lished in 1983 due to its re liance on self-reported data from the universities, the release that happens every September has caused an other round of media atten tion as per usual.

With the self-reported data from these universi ties, U.S. News is able to put together information for many of America’s col leges, and Stevens is no ex ception. According to the U.S. News’ published data, the median starting sala ry of Stevens graduates is

$71,500 across all majors. The university also boasts a 12:1 student-faculty ratio and over 80% of all classes have less than 50 students, all factors that have culti vated a successful learning environment.Alongwith the overall university rankings and data, the website also pub lishes many other lists rating the profciency of schools in specifc sectors. The highest placing Stevens received in

SEE STEVENS PAGE 2

Alpha Phi’s Red Dress Brunch

BY BUSINESSRAMELLI,JORDYNMANAGER

On September 17, 2022, the Alpha Phi sorority held their annual Red Dress Brunch to raise money for their philanthropy, the Al pha Phi Foundation. The event started at 11 a.m. and ended at 2 p.m., taking place on Babbio Patio. Red Dress Brunch was direct ed by members Elizabeth Cannizzo, Vice President of Health, Wellness, and Accountability, and Serena Platt, Director of Philan thropy, with assistance from Alexis McKelvey, President of Alpha Phi. The sisters of Alpha Phi were all also involved in the plan ning and execution of the event.

Cannizzo explained what the event entails; “On the patio there is a buffet of brunch food for everyone to take part in throughout the event. Inside the Atrium, there are raffle prizes that people can buy tickets and enter to win prizes. Some prizes include Chipotle gift cards, Kendra Scott ear rings, and Turning Point vouchers. Throughout the event people are welcome to eat, participate in raf fles and play games. Every year we also have a guest speaker talk about the im portance of Women’s Heart Health. This year, our guest speaker Elizabeth Miller, spoke of her personal ex perience with a heart con dition.”

JORDYN RAMELLI FOR THE STUTE

OLOF PERSSON FOR THE STUTE

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ALPHA

SEE LANTERN

All opinions and editorials refect the views of their respective au thor(s). Part of The Stute be reproduced in any form, in whole or in part, without the written consent of the Editor-in-Chief. Cited refer ences of The Stute are permitted.

All members of the Stevens community are able to submit a Letter to the Editor to be published in The Stute. Letters must refer either to a piece published in The Stute or to The Stute in general and must be be tween 400 – 800 words in length. Submit letters to editor@thestute.com with your name and title (when applicable) or using our Google form. For writers who wish to write a Letter to the Editor anonymously, please see our policy on anonymity.

The Editorial Board reserves the right to choose whether or not to pub lish a submitted Letter to the Editor based on a majority rule vote, and additionally reserves the right to edit letters for clarity or request authors to revise. Provided that the author approves the fnal version, The Stute reserves the right to edit letters according to our copy editing procedures, defned in our policies.

All members of the Stevens community are able to submit a stand alone opinion piece (otherwise known as an Op-Ed) to be published in The Stute. Op-Eds must be between 400 – 800 words, but longer sub missions will be considered on a case-by-case basis. To submit an OpEd please email eboard@thestute.com with your name and title (when applicable) or using our Google form (tinyurl.com/submit-t0-stute). For writers who wish to write an Op-Ed anonymously, please see our policy onTheanonymity.Editorial Board reserves the right to choose whether or not to pub lish a submitted Op-Ed based on a majority rule vote, and additionally reserves the right to edit Op-Eds for clarity or request authors to revise. Provided that the author approves the fnal version, The Stute reserves the right to edit Op-Eds according to our copy editing procedures, de fned in our policies.

LANTERN

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Lanternfies are a threat to the United State’s agricultural infra structure, with the greatest poten tial impact being the “grape, or chard, and logging industries.”

As far as aiding the extermi nation of this harmful species, it is advised that everyone inspect the foliage and outdoor surfaces surrounding their residences. Any adult spotted lanternfies should be immediately squished, and ev eryone should also look for signs

of eggs. The Department of Agri culture states that “lanternfy egg masses are about an inch long and resemble a smear of mud.” If you detect these masses it is advised that you scrape the eggs up, place them in a ziplock bag, drench them with hand sanitizer, and “dispose of the sealed bag properly.”

NBC New York has also ofered various tips on how to exterminate the insects. Spray bottles can be flled with various solutions in cluding a white vinegar solution, or a soapy water mixture. Addi tionally, spotted lanternfies are attracted to milkweed. Placing milkweed outside is a passive way

to kill the insect because once they feed on the sap they will die.

Many students have expressed frustration surrounding the in festation. Caterina Tassone was stalked by a lanternfy into her dorm room; she said “they are seemingly becoming more intel ligent and they may as well enroll as students.” One student was overheard on campus questioning whether “stomping on lantern fies speeds up their natural evolution because we squish the slow ones.” Experts on the topic of invasive species are still strongly encourag ing everyone to stomp on them.

STEVENS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

any category this year was be ing rated as the 26th Most Inno vative School. This ranking relied solely on the peer assessment survey, where each administrator could rank up to 15 schools they considered to be improving their campuses. A clear reason why Ste vens was ranked by so many other administrators was the opening of the new University Towers and UCC earlier this Spring. Stevens also made top 100 appearances in the categories for Best Colleges for Veterans, Best Value School, and Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs.

QUAE

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

him and Schmitt, the co-found ers, “time to focus on furthering theThroughcompany.”their LinkedIn search, they came across Cris Sosa. Sosa earned a Bachelor of Business Ad ministration in Marketing from Rutgers University’s Business School and is a graduate student of Strayer University. Sosa has previ ous experience with social media, advertising, and other manage rial positions. In his position as Head of Marketing, he will work to spread the work of Quae, make it more accessible, and ease com munication between Quae and the general public. Sosa agrees with the missions and goals of Quae and embodies their objectives of inclu sive community involvement and

ALPHA PHI

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

The event was planned with the assistance of members of the Red Dress Brunch committee, which consists of sisters of Alpha Phi. Cannizzo stated, “Because this event takes place close to the beginning of the school year and requires a lot of planning to be successful, the committee forms over the summer and works right up until the event takes place. The committee is broken up into subcommittees, which include marketing, financials, fundrais ing, and recruitment.”

In total, Alpha Phi raised $5,526 for the Alpha Phi Founda tion. This number includes tick et sales, donations, raffle sales, and the proceeds from their latenight food fundraiser, “Mac N’ Phis.” Platt explained, “Mac N’ Phi’s is an event used to fund raise for Alpha Phi’s philanthro py. The event went from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. on the night of Septem ber 16. I spent a total of about 16 hours making mac and cheese, which came out to 24 pounds of pasta spread and 18 trays. It was great!”Allproceeds were donated to the Alpha Phi Foundation, which supports five main causes: Wom en’s Heart Health, scholarship, leadership, the Forget Me Not Grant, and the preservation of heritage. More can be read about Alpha Phi’s philanthropy on their website. Cannizzo and Platt both agree that Red Dress Brunch was a huge success, with the help of all Alpha Phi sisters in conjunc tion with those who attended and donated.

empowering the masses towards a democratic system. Sosa said in a press release, “democracy is at its strongest when everyone has equal footing to participate. I see Quae breaking down barriers and revo lutionizing how people communi cate with their representatives.”

Quae is looking to continue its work into the future. With the ad dition of Sosa to their team, the co-founders will now have more opportunities to expand their work in furthering democracy and oth er ventures. Probst explained that Quae is entering the investment industry, working on corporate organization, and continuing re search and development on Quae and the democratic processes of Stevens and Hoboken.

Quae ofers both the students of Stevens and the people of Hobo ken an opportunity to have frsthand infuence in their communi ties. The introduction of Sosa as

Head of Marketing exhibits the organization’s openness to grow with the times— to face and over come the challenges each new day presents. The past work of Quae conveys a message of democratic and representative ideals. With the addition of Cris Sosa to their staf, the future of Quae looks bright and promising. For more information, please see the recent Press Release by Quae.

The Lodge wins Founders Trophy at national convention: Chi Psi Fraternity does not refer to itself as “The Lodge,” though some of the Alphas (including Alpha Xi at Stevens) use it as a nickname on their campuses. Chi Psi Fraternity also presents more than three awards at Annual Convention, though the Founders Trophy is one of the major ones.

KATIE NG FOR THE STUTE

CRIS SOSA, PHOTO COURTESY OF QUAE

HEALTH AND SAFETY IN HOBOKEN AND NYC

Mask mandate ends for mass transit

BY KATIE OUTREACHBLOOMER,CHAIR

Kathy Hochul, the Governor of New York, recently announced that masks are no longer required for mass transit in New York. This includes subways, buses, and ad ditional forms of transit. Other transportation groups like taxis, airports, and ride-share vehicles are experiencing similar liftings of mask bans. In a similar manner, New Jersey is taking measures in conjunction with New York and re cently lifted the mask mandate on the PATH train between Hoboken and Manhattan. This change was intended to bring consistency be tween New York and New Jersey, which often overlap between pas sengers.Mandatory masking started as a result of the COVID-19 pandem ic more than two years ago in an attempt to limit the spread of the virus. According to Spencer Kim ball with CNBC, many New York ers stopped wearing masks in the spring, despite almost complete

compliance towards the beginning of the pandemic. Although they are not required, The Port Author ity of New York and New Jersey announced that masks will contin ue to be encouraged in conjunction with enhanced cleaning eforts, in creased train service, limited ele vator use, and sanitizing stations.

The CDC advised that COVID is a lower threat due to widespread vaccine accessibility and proven treatments. The New York State Health Commissioner, Dr. Mary Bassett, agreed that the initial vac cine accompanied by the boosters will prevent high rates of infection. New York ofcials are urging peo ple to get vaccinated and continue giving shots in pharmacies, med ical ofces, and through health care providers. New Jersey is also encouraging vaccinations for all eligible individuals. If you are looking to get a COVID vaccine in New Jersey, visit ny.gov/.itCOVIDnj.gov/pages/vaccine.https://covid19.TogetavaccineinNewYork,vishttps://covid19vaccine.health.

Hoboken to ofer COVID-19 booster shot

BY TODD CONTRIBUTORBECHTEL

In the city’s most recent eforts to fght the spread of COVID-19, Hoboken Mayor Ravi S. Bhalla announced on September 13 that Hoboken will have new pop-up booster clinics to distribute the bivalent COVID-19 vaccine. The pop-up clinics are spread through out Hoboken and occur on week days between the hours of 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Everyone 12 years and older can get the latest boost er shot if they received their last booster shot or fnished their pri mary COVID-19 vaccination over two months ago; they must bring their vaccination card to the clin ic. All clinics will be administering the bivalent booster shot which targets both the original strain of COVID-19 as well as multiple strains of the Omicron variant that can more easily spread.

Mayor Bhalla plans on holding more booster clinics as Hoboken

obtains more shipments of the recent CDC and FDA-authorized booster. In the original booster an nouncement, Mayor Bhalla said “I encourage all those eligible to con sider getting the updated booster to increase your protection against COVID-19 as we head towards the colder fall and winter months.” With many people traveling during the holiday season and the new er Omicron variant reaching the U.S. a few months before 2022, COVID-19 cases surged at the be ginning of 2022 as Hudson Coun ty reached over 2,500 daily cases. Stevens had to hold classes online for the frst two weeks of the spring semester to prevent the spread of COVID-19 on campus from many students traveling back home during winter break. With the ac cessible booster clinics throughout Hoboken in the fall, Mayor Bhal la is hoping to prevent a spike of COVID-19 cases throughout the city during the winter as seen in years past throughout the world.

Hudson County to make signal upgrades to 14th & Hudson Streets in Hoboken

BY CONTRIBUTINGPAPAGEORGE,EVANREPORTER

Through its newest initiative, the city of Hoboken has shown that it prioritizes the safety of its citizens and, consequently, the students at Stevens. Many stu dents realize a signifcant dan ger in Hoboken is a simple task: crossing the street. With racing cars, blind spots, and inattentive drivers, city ofcials are aware that there is a need to streamline updates to stoplights, trafc sig nals, and pedestrian safety fea tures. One area in particular—the intersection of 14th and Hudson streets—recently began construc tion on many of these essential components.InearlySeptember, Hoboken

Mayor Ravi S. Bhalla and Com missioner Anthony Romano pub licized that at the intersection of Hudson and 14th street, the city will be installing, re-installing, and repairing the pedestrian safe ty and stoplight features.

One new feature will be curb extensions, which ofer a larg er area on the sidewalk by ex tending the curb farther into the street. Besides providing more room, they also reduce pedestri ans’ crossing distance, encourage turning vehicles to reduce their speeds, increase sightlines at the intersection, and create small rain gardens that will aid in storm drainage and improve the area’s

naturalBeyondappeal.the curb extensions, the city will also be installing 12” LED modernized trafc-stop sig nals, refectors along the edge of the crosswalks, refective paint for the actual crosswalks, and the needed infrastructure for these newAdditionally,components.the city is im plementing new ADA-compliant curb ramps onto the street, warn ing strips at all ramps, and refur bished piping and drains for the sewage and storm drain systems. These features will keep the in tersection safe for everyone and reduce environmental impacts, fash fooding, and other problem atic

Thisissues.construction is all the re sult of mayor Bhalla’s initiative in 2019 to eliminate trafc-related deaths by 2030. Consequently, over the past four years, Hoboken has prevented all trafc-related deaths. Bhalla’s program and its emphasis on safety help Hoboken to be safer for everyone, especially children and the elderly, who are more at risk for trafc-related in juries and deaths. The hope is that Hoboken will continue to keep the streets safe for its citizens. The work is to continue through the fall and complete sometime in November. Regardless of the safety features, being attentive, following trafc patterns, and looking around before crossing the street are still efective ways to stay safe while exploring your neighborhood.

PHOTO COURTESY OF NPR.ORG

PHOTO COURTESY OF NCOA.ORG

Fall Festival comes to campus this weekend!

Stevens Fall Festival starts today, Friday, Sep tember 23 with speakers, tours, sports, and events continuing tomorrow. With few exceptions, the campus has mostly been restricted to student-on ly events, and this week end marks the return of Parent’s Weekend and an opportunity to show off the campus and student life. Those who are new to campus will be able to tour all areas, including the li brary, labs, Greek houses, and the new University Center Complex. Many of the weekend’s events will be held in the UCC, like the Hoboken Bagel Showdown in the UCC Marketplace and President Favardin’s State of the University address in the new Tech Flex Auditorium. Stevens’ sports are also on display; the currently dominant Women’s Volleyball has two games on Saturday, or come see Field Hockey or Men’s Soccer on Debaun Field. There are plenty of opportunities to mingle, with Happy Hour, Carnival Games and Food Trucks, and the Beer Garden tak ing place across campus. A staple of the Hoboken experience is gazing at the New York City skyline, and the Empire State Building will be turning its lights to “Stevens red” on Satur day night. Whether you’re a student, parent, staff, or alumni, there’s something for you at the Fall Festi val. To view the full event schedule, go to tival-2022/vens.edu/stevens-fall-fesrise.ste

KAYDEN CANNILLA FOR THE STUTE

ON DECK IN

BY CHRISTA RUIZ, SPORTS EDITOR

On September 9 and 10, the Stevens Women’s varsity volley ball claimed all four victories of the North Country Classic. The games were won 3-0 and 3-1, re spectively, against St. Lawrence University and Lasell University on the first day, and won by mar gins of 3-2 and 3-1, respectively, against Middlebury College and Clarkson University on day two.

Stevens swept the home team St. Lawrence University 3-0, and each match had a respective score of 25-12, 25-12, and 25-19.

Graduate student Kathleen Rie gner had four aces and 10 assists in their opening match. Against Lasell University, Stevens won at a margin of 3-1, and each match had a respective score of 25-12, 17-25, 25-16, and 25-12.

Junior Meg Dion had four kills and six blocks against Lasell. The team served 23 aces across

both matches held on Friday. These two victories increased the Duck’s winning streak to three and changed their record to 4-2 on the year thus far.

One of the highlights from the opening day was the defense played in the match against the Lasell Lasers. The Ducks held the Lasers to a negative hit ting percentage in the first and fourth sets, which led to Lasell finishing under .100 for the match. In contrast, Stevens only made one attack error and hit for a match-high 0.444 in the thirdDayset.two of the North Country Classic took place at Clarkson University’s Alumni Gymnasi um on Saturday, September 10.

Stevens defeated Middlebury College 3-2, with each set having a respective score of 20-25, 2517, 25-19, 16-25, and 15-4 in the opening match of the second day.

Against Middlebury, sophomore Cleo Shannon totaled 14 kills

which matched her career high, and also she had three blocks.

Against Clarkson, Stevens won 3-1 with respective set scores of 25-22, 25-19, 17-25, and 2512. Junior Meg Dion blocked five shots and had five kills in the match. Across both matches played on the closing day of the North Country Classic, Junior Liz Patterson totaled 21 kills and 27 digs, leading her to her first career double-double.

In the first match of day two, each team had won two sets and was battling to see who would win the deciding fifth set. The Ducks were down to begin this set, as Middlebury opened with multiple consecutive kills. A service error from Middlebury gave Stevens possession, and Shannon and Sophia Schaefer combined for the next four kills to push the Ducks’ lead to 5-2.

The Ducks scored the next eight points, and in the end, a Mid dlebury error secured the vic

Women’s volleyball team wins all games of the North Country Classic Defensive Player of the

BY KATIE OUTREACHBLOOMER,CHAIR

Senior Justin Cross of the Men’s Soccer team was named the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom Defensive Play er for the week of September 12.

This award is given to a player who demonstrates great skill and shows exceptional results in their defensive position, and this is his second week winning the award. Playing as the goalkeep er, Cross allowed only one goal in 180 minutes in games against Rutgers-Newark and Vassar,

keeping a 0.833 save percentage for the Crossweek.isa Biomedical Engi neering major at Stevens. He is from Kendall Park, New Jersey, and he attended South Bruns wick High School. In both 2019 and 2021, Cross was added to the lists of MAC Fall Academic Hon or Roll. The men’s soccer team did not compete in a competitive intercollegiate season in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Cross was still able to make the MAC Fall Honor Roll. Cross made his collegiate debut in 2021 in a game against The College of

New Jersey (TCNJ).

Cross is the first in his home town to receive this award and the first man in the Stevens soccer program to receive the award this year. Men’s soccer head coach Dale Jordan stated that he is “delighted for Justin to get this award.” He believes that Cross would be the first to thank his defenders who play with him, showing sportsmanship in addition to his excellent per formance. Furthermore, Jordan mentioned that he is excited to see how Cross performs the rest of the season.

tory. In this fifth set, the Ducks hit for 0.500 while holding the Middlebury Panthers to a nega tive attack percentage. This had been the first time in the 2022 season in which the Panthers made more attack errors than kills in a single set.

The Ducks closed out the fi nal set of the match against Clarkson, hitting 0.417, and forced Clarkson into four more attack errors than their six kills. Schaefer knocked down four kills on six swings and regis tered three blocks. An eightpoint run sparked by sophomore Bailey Axelrad’s kill turned a five-point lead into a lead of 13 points. A kill by Dion brought the Ducks to match point, and a kill from Maggio ended the match. After the match, Stevens’ record was brought to 6-2, and their winning streak increased to five straight games won.

SUN, SEPT

MON, SEPT

TUE, SEPT WOMEN’S

MONTCLAIR STATE UNIVERSITY

GEORGE CANGERO INVITATIONAL - ROUND 2 AWAY

FDU FALL INVITATIONAL - ROUND 1

THE COLLEGE OF NEW JERSEY

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL vs Manhattamville College Purchase, NY 7pm

SAT, SEPT 24

WOMEN’S TENNIS vs ITA Atlantic South Region Championship, Day 2 Fredricksburg, VA Time TBA

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL vs Farmingdale State College Hoboken, NJ 10am

WOMEN’S SOCCER vs Christopher NewportUniversityNewportNews,VA11am

FIELD HOCKEY vs Desales University Hoboken, NJ 1pm

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL vs Brooklyn College Hoboken, NJ 4pm

MEN’S SOCCER vs Hoboken,WidenerNJ4pm

SUN, SEPT 25

WOMEN’S TENNIS vs ITA Atlantic South Region Championship, Day 3 Fredricksburg, VA Time TBA

TUE, SEPT 27

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL vs Madison,FDU-FlorhamNJ7pm

WED, SEPT 28

WOMEN’S SOCCER vs Widener University Chester, PA 6pm

FIELD HOCKEY vs Montclair State University Montclair, NJ 7:30pm

WOMEN’S (6-0) (2-3)

HOME W (3-0)

MAC INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONSHIP - DAY 2 AWAY

AWAY

HOME L (0-1)

Science

Australian scientists discover plastic-eating worms

BY CLAIRE HANNAN, NEWS EDITOR

Recently, scientists at the Uni versity of Queensland in Austra lia have discovered that a certain species of worm is capable of di gesting and living of of a plas tic-only diet. The plastic-eating insects are actually not worms— they are called Zophobas mo rio, also known as a superworm. Superworms are the larvae for a species of beetle and are com monly found in pet stores as feed for reptiles. In the past, studies have found multiple other types of beetle larvae are capable of eating plastic but this study fo cused specifcally on Zophobas morio and drew some signifcant conclusions from their observa tions.Researchers at the University of Queensland tested three groups of superworms on diferent diets over three weeks. One group was fed a normal diet of grain supple mented with vegetables, another on polystyrene (more commonly known as styrofoam), and the last one was fed nothing as a control. They found that the group eating

polystyrene survived and even put on weight throughout the pe riod. The plastic group thrived less than the grain-fed group but did better than the group with no food, suggesting that the worms did get some nutritional beneft from the polystyrene. This study ultimately proves enzymes in the worms’ guts were somehow able to degrade and digest the usual ly non-biodegradable substance and turn it into energy.

This study holds promise for environmental eforts moving forward. Polystyrene, or styro foam, is one of the most common ly produced plastics and is used in everyday life and doesn’t nat urally degrade. Currently, most pollution eforts focus on reduc ing the use of plastics and fnding new purposes for already pro duced plastic. This study opens up the new possibility of safely disposing of plastics naturally.

The future of waste manage ment is not heading toward mas sive worm farms though. While the worms are capable of digest ing the plastics, it is detrimental to their overall health and is a slow process. Instead, scientists

are trying to fnd the specifc en zymes that break down polysty rene so that the process can be replicated on an industrial scale.

There are still several hurdles that scientists must cross before this process becomes a reality. Firstly, the researchers are still not sure which specifc enzymes

are responsible for the super worms’ abilities. Once the en zymes are isolated and identifed, scientists would need to estab lish a way to create the enzymes in mass quantities, which could have unforeseen economic or en vironmental impacts. Some ques tion if this process could ever be

economically viable consider ing that it would be signifcantly more expensive for companies to break down plastic than to throw it out. Either way, these discov eries promise more options to reduce plastic pollution as soci ety grows more environmentally conscious.

NASA “DARTs” to intercept an asteroid

BY SARASTAFFDEUIDICIBUS,WRITER

Around 65 million years ago, an asteroid or comet hit the Earth in modern-day Mexico, rendering a majority of the species at the time extinct. With the growth of technology, many scientists have been working to try and prevent a similar future occurrence. Just under a year ago, on November 23, 2021, NASA launched a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket which carried the agency’s new Double Asteroid Redirection Mission spacecraft. The launch marked the beginning of NASA’s Double Asteroid Redi rection Test (DART), “the world’s frst full-scale mission to test

technology for defending Earth against potential asteroid or com et hazards.”Thespacecraft was launched with the intent to intercept Di morphos, an asteroid 11 million kilometers from Earth, on Sep tember 26 of this year. NASA hopes that the impact will push Dimorphos into a closer or

bit around its partner asteroid, Didymos. If everything goes to plan, Dimorphos’s orbit around Didymos will be shortened by a few minutes; this means the as teroid would, theoretically, en ter Earth’s orbit before or after our planet would be in a direct path for collision, as explained by John Foster, a researcher and Michigan engineer who helped develop DART’s ion engine. On the ground, researchers can then measure this change of orbit and try to conclude if the method used could efectively defect future as teroids and/or comets.

This is not to say the mission comes without a huge challenge, though. The strength of Dimor phos is not yet fully understood, according to DART lead investi gator Andy Cheng of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. If the aster oid is weak, the spacecraft run ning into it at 6 kilometers per second will cause a large crater that takes hours to develop “in a process so complex it would take months or even years to model with traditional computer sim ulations” said Sabina Raducan, a planetary scientist at the Uni versity of Bern. This means that

the true results of NASA’s eforts may not be known for a long time. However, there will be another ef fort for scientists to look forward to in the meantime; the Europe an Space Agency will launch its mission Hera in October of 2024. Hera will involve a spacecraft traveling to Dimorphos’s surface to closely examine the asteroid’s surface and mass; this will give researchers of the DART mission a better understanding of the re sult of the upcoming impact.

On September 26, at 7:14 EDT, the collision between the spacecraft and Dimorphos will take place. The event will be livestreamed on NASA TV, its web site, and the agency’s social me dia accounts for viewers to watch at home, with coverage beginning at 6 p.m. EDT. While Dimorphos does not currently pose a threat to us, there are many potentially hazardous asteroids scientists do not yet know about. As a result, researchers are necessarily devel oping their work in space explo ration and relevant technology in anticipation of the unknown. After all, we do not want a repeat of what happened to our planet millions of years ago.

How music infuences our brains

BY ESTEFANIA DE SCIENCECAIRES,WRITER

Music therapy has been around for centuries, as the ear liest recorded reference to music therapy was in 1789. Nonethe less, its use didn’t officially take off until the 20th century, when the National Society of Musical Therapeutics, the National As sociation for Music in Hospitals, and the National Foundation of Music Therapy were created. By the 1940s, there was a sufficient increase in exposure that even tually encouraged several uni versities around the country to incorporate music therapy into their academic programs. All of this growth culminated in the creation of the American Music Therapy Association in 1998.

Now, music therapy is used to help with mental health issues from depression to Alzheimer’s, as well as help with recovery following a physical injury like a stroke or head trauma. It con sists of certified music therapists holding either group or individ ual sessions where people can listen, sing, or play music. The purpose is to utilize the physical reactions that music produces to either build new neurological

pathways or improve the overall well-being of patients. Some of the benefits of doing music ther apy include reducing stress and anxiety, relaxing muscle tension, relieving pain, and improving communication and social skills.

Studies found that listening to or playing music causes the body to increase the production of the antibody immunoglobulin A and natural killer cells, thus im proving the body’s immune sys tem. It also reduces the levels of the stress hormone cortisol which can help decrease anxiety, and researchers found it is even “more effective than prescription drugs in reducing anxiety before surgery.” Therefore, we know that music connects with us in a special way, but why?

The answer is not entirely clear. Music is sounds, which are essentially vibrations that are interpreted by our brains and influence how the brain works.

Two professors at the University of Central Florida teach the class “Music and the Brain,” where they discuss how music impacts brain function and human behav iors. One of the interactions that occurs between music and brain function is neurogenesis, which is the brain’s ability to produce neurons. This can help people

with neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s because it acti vates parts of the brain otherwise unused. Music also influences the parts of the brain differently; for example, the professors state that listening and playing music can enhance the function of the fron tal lobe and can improve our abil ity to communicate by activating the Broca’s Area. In some cases,

neurologic music therapy (NMT) is applied to sensory, speech, cognitive, and motor dysfunc tions because, as mentioned be fore, music can activate specific centers in the brain that can help regain control of these functions.

NMT is a rapidly growing form of therapy in the United States and it is being incorporated into neu rorehabilitation centers.

It seems music therapy will continue to grow and integrate into the medical field as it has over the past several years. Final ly, as more research in this field is done, there are more possibili ties for us to understand why mu sic affects us in a unique way.

PHOTO COURTESY OF BBC.COM

PHOTO COURTESY

MUSIC THERAPY

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PHOTO COURTESY OF ROWAN UNIVERSITY

THE BENEFITS AND BIASES OF AI IMAGE GENERATION

BY QUENTIN JIMENEZ, SCIENCE WRITER

Recent innovations in Artifcial Intelligence (AI) technology have made image generation much easi er. Over the course of the summer, companies like Google and Ope nAI, as well as other smaller pro gramming teams, have released access to their attempts at creating an algorithm capable of generating images from text.

One of the frst to release to the public, and therefore the most popular, DALL-E Mini (now called crAIyon) gives users the ability to generate somewhat realistic imag es with the same ease as search ing for an image on Google; just enter a few words and within a minute, nine separate images are generated that attempt to ft your prompt. While most of the results are clearly artifcial and somewhat rudimentary, the website is still an example of how quickly the tech nology has evolved, and how many groups have been trying to repli cate its

Evensuccess.though each model has its own intricacies and algorithms that make it function, they all work in almost the same way. The frst step is to teach the AI to recognize objects within images. This is done with a large dataset of images and text descriptions of what the im ages contain. From this, the algo rithm learns to recognize patterns within the image and teaches itself to understand the diference be tween a dog and a stop sign. Once the AI can understand what words and phrases correspond to which types of images, it can then be used

to generate an image based on text alone.While it seems like a fun nov elty to be able to imagine an im age and have it appear before you, there are several concerns that arise with this technology. One of the frst was pointed out by Ope nAI while they were contemplating how to release access to their DAL LE 2 framework: should we allow the internet to create images of ev erything? It may be fun to gener ate images of artwork or animals, but what should the algorithm do when asked to generate explicit images? When and where should the line be drawn, should users be able to create violent, hateful, or pornographic content? Is it ethical to train an AI to generate these im ages, or even to have these types of images in datasets?

The concerns around image generation go beyond the user in put. What if a user doesn’t ask for explicit or derogatory information, but it is generated regardless? This is an issue that comes with dataset bias; if the dataset used to train an AI has a bias in a certain direction, it will often lead to the algorithms themselves implementing those biases. Since the dataset for these complex algorithms needs to be so large, the images and their meta data are often scraped from the in ternet, bringing along their biases with them. This has caused many algorithms to adopt the biases and stereotypes of human society, with prompts containing “fight at tendant” often depicting women, or “lawyers” depicting old white men. Although these biases have become a recent problem, many prominent companies have begun

cleaning their datasets to account for these human biases.

Removing biased and explicit content is still not enough for some critics; however, many artists see the technology as a threat to their livelihood. Most can agree that it is acceptable for a machine to imi tate the works of dead artists, like Picasso, Monet, and Van Gogh. An issue arises when machines imitate the work of living, working artists, compounded by the fact that some of these companies are profting from their technology. In order to imitate the works of these artists, the AI must train on their previous pieces of art, learning the style of each individual artist. Is it ethical, or even legal, for these companies to train their AI on other people’s art in order to generate and sell new content? Who then owns the image—the company who made the algorithm, the artists used in the dataset, the user who chose the text, or the algorithm that generat ed the Whileimage?there is a large amount of controversy surrounding the topic of text-to-image generation, one thing that both users and de velopers can agree on is that this technology is still in its infancy. It seems like every month a new iter ation is released with slightly more realistic image generation. Some projects have even evolved to au dio and video generation, and we may not be far from the frst com puter-generated movie. However, with every step this technology takes, it is important to remem ber the issues that come alongside it and to protect the artists that helped create it.

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Opinion

THE STUTE

A walk in the park

I’ve decided Sundays are the perfect day to hit New York City and simply walk around. Inspired by the popularization of the “hot girl walk,” I paraded West Village and SoHo until I found myself in Washington Square Park. The classic characters of the park were there: DJs, performers, Tik Tokers, art vendors, NYU students, etc. But one character I wasn’t expecting to meet was the kind elder man who asked if the seat next to me was occupied. As someone who usu ally keeps to myself, I try to limit my interactions with strangers, but I ultimately obliged and scooted over to the right side of the bench.

Initially, I had my earbuds in, and I quickly planned my escape route. I would stay on the bench for a few more minutes and then even tually leave; it was time for me to get back anyway. I began to think about all the homework I had left to do for the weekend and the fact that I had to fnish writing my ed itorial for this week, but that train of thought was interrupted by the man asking how my day was going.

I replied in short phrases, not inter ested in engaging in conversation. But then, the man began to de scribe his experiences in the legal feld, our shared love for walking in NYC, and the recent trip he took to Maine. After a few minutes of exchanging pleasantries, I became curious about the man’s backstory, his experience in the legal feld.

And so began an illustrious conversation ranging from topics about quantum computing, the U.S. Constitution, Stevens (appar ently Stevens was originally named Stevens H. Institute of Technol ogy, which was quickly changed for acronym purposes), Columbia University basketball games, and eventually, newspapers. During his college experience at Columbia, he had served as the Managing Editor of the Columbia Daily Spectator (CDS), Columbia’s daily student newspaper.CDSis a daily student paper, with print issues that used to be delivered at 9 a.m. every week day. The Stute on the other hand, is a weekly publication, coming

MIND OF A FRESHMAN First month thoughts

posed to start right?

out once every Friday. From all the stress and efort that goes into churning The Stute out every Fri day, hearing about a daily student publication seemed almost unfath omable.Wealso discussed the issue of readership: how do we get more people to read the physical copies of the paper. I mentioned that our Google Analytic for thestute.com showed an immense increase in readership in recent years; howev er, readership of print copies have only slightly increased. The man posed some interesting questions that gave me a lot to think about: “What in the paper makes STEM students want to pick it up,” “How is the paper advertised around the campus?” While of course The Stute is hyper aware of our read ership, it’s in our best interest to really focus on how we can get more people to read the paper. It’s also important to keep in mind the reach of The Stute as well. Just this past week, one of our opinion col umnists was DMed on Instagram by an artist she wrote about! So it’s

also about how we can reach the Stevens community and broader Hoboken/NYC community as well.

Other things we discussed in cluded position hierarchies—there was little diference between our two organizations—and respon sibilities, the excitement and aes thetics associated with deciding the paper layout, collaboration across student newspapers at dif ferent schools in the Ivy League, the efectiveness of TV as a news outlet, the idea of compensating student newspaper staf, and ev erything in between. The breadth of conversation topics of newspa pers is truly never ending.

Ultimately, I left this conversa tion feeling inspired, driven, and more enthusiastic because there’s much to be gained from taking time to talk about the news. I nev er thought I’d take away this much from a random conversation with a stranger, but I’m glad to have gained a newfound perspective on the broader world of student news papers. All because I took a walk in the park.

Sanjana Madhu ‘23 Editor-in-Chief

SENIORITIS My busiest week (so far)

I think we all know that college can be exciting yet overwhelming for many be ginners, but what exactly is going through the freshmen minds? The minds of the newbies who still aren’t used to seeing the NYC skyline ev ery day? Well, here is a quick look into how I was processing things…

AAAAAH

So many new people. So many things to do.

First there were the small talks and ice breakers. I think we all have had enough of the “linking” game where we all interlocked our sweaty arms in a circle and awkwardly stood around as people intro duced themselves. There were three most common phras es spoken: “Hi, my name is Tanishka,” “Hey! What’s your name,” and “Oh, so what’s your major?” If things went further than that, we got creative with “So, where are you from?” So much small talk, but that’s how great friendships are sup

How was I going to make friends in this new world? I only had a limited social bat tery, and I felt like I needed a friend group. It felt as if I only had three days of Pre-Orienta tion to somehow fnd the path to my soulmate. I did not fnd my soulmate, but I did end up fnding a fun and caring group of friends. We hung out, got some boba, and sometimes randomly stared at the sky line.How many places are there on campus where you could get an amazingly clear view of most of Manhattan? Some times while walking back to my dorm, my steps would au tomatically slow down as I be came entranced by the night views of the city, which made me think of my future and reminded me of the reason I was at Stevens. Forget rela tionships, I wanted to be a rich woman who owned a place in the Jenga building (right next to Anderson Cooper) and wore cocktail dresses. Many times, on my way towards the view, though, I would always feel a weird crunch under my feet. When I looked down, I re alized that those are not the leaves signaling the start of the best season. Those were the corpses of lanternfies. Kill them. I remember sit ting on one of the tables out side the UCC, eating a burrito bowl I ordered from Sono (I could spend another whole

article talking about the wait time) while enjoying the view of the World Trade Center.

When I felt a weird sensation on my leg, I should’ve known that the slow movement wasn’t the cool wind tickling me, but instead was the cal culated crawling of a gigantic invasive insect. Next thing I knew, I was swatting my hand around furiously, hoping to rid myself of this forbidden crea ture. They are literally every where. Have you ever looked up at the corners of the UCC towers? I wouldn’t suggest it.

After the constant running around during orientation, things fnally settled, and classes started. I began round two of introductions, but this time it was a bit more pro fessional since I was talking to professors. Shake hands, smile, and say your name. Would they remember me? Probably not.

Overall, the frst couple of weeks of college were some what overwhelming, but I think that all of us are settling into it. Just remember that ev eryone here is new and look ing for people to connect with, so don’t be shy to extend your hand frst. No matter how much ice breakers may make you cringe, at least they will give you something to make fun of with the person next to you, and that might lead you to meet a great friend.

After last week, I am now ofcially in the thick of the semester. The norm of near-constant classes, meetings, rehearsals, and work have replaced the rel ative calm I experienced in my frst several days back on campus. Back on the grind, I guess!

My frst reaction to this busy week was frustration. On Monday, I was booked for 8 straight hours, and while I could have given myself a break somewhere in that time span, I (foolish ly) chose not to. This left me tired and ductive,couldmorewereprojectsthroughingmeetingswereTuesdayregretful.andWednesdaysimilarlybusy,withandeventscomupunexpectedly.Igotit,althoughalotofI’dhopedtostartputonholdforafewdays.ThursdayandFridayhavebeenmoreprobuttheearly-week

craziness fnally caught up with me. Much of my time these days was spent, not necessarily resting (be cause I still had lots of things to do), but doing slightly more restful activi ties, like walking, listening to music, and hanging out with friends.

If you’ve stuck with me through what proba bly sounds like a mundane week for Stevens’ stan dards, written in a style vaguely reminiscent of the Cure’s “Friday, I’m in Love” (although with more mundane subject matter), I thought I’d share two major takeaways from this busiest week yet.

—SATIRE—

We here at Of the Press pride ourselves on our im maculate journalism, our commitment to reporting the truth no matter how improbable it may seem, and our rigorous drive to keep everyone informed of the goings-on around campus. It is with a heavy heart today that I, the chief editor of Of the Press, in form you that the writer for this week’s article was caught searching headlines of theonion.com for mate rial to write about. At this time we would like to as sure you that we have never taken inspiration from any satirical new site and abso lutely all of our journalism is based on hard facts and

questions that we have dis covered for asked experts and eyewitnesses about. In other words, we have never been making this up as we go along two hours before The Stute requires our sub missions.Asaresult of this dis covery, Of the Press is tak ing two important steps to ensure no incident like this happens again. First, we are conducting a comprehen sive overhaul of our writing process and undergoing a thorough review of past material to make sure it is completely onion-less. All references to onions—the food—will also be removed with a special exception for this article. Second, we are doing interviews with all of our writers and editors to determine who the snitch

was that provided the anon ymous tip so they can be removed from our organi zation. As the sharpie right below the Ducks Don’t Haze poster in our ofce says, “Ducks don’t reveal some one else’s epic bit either.”

Anyone who knows someone who might have thought it was cute or fun ny to end someone else’s hilarious bit before they were ready is encouraged to come forward with infor mation. It goes without say ing that if our whistleblow er was doing an amusing bit of their own, it would be pretty rude to reveal it was them if they don’t want you to, and we would certainly not condone giving us that information we asked for.

Normally we don’t pub licize our scandals, we sim

ply write a quick summary and then stuf it in a now overfowing fling cabinet labeled “Super Secret Stuf” and hope nobody fnds out about it. In this case, we decided it would be cool if we opted for transparency every now and again. Hope fully it doesn’t completely upend our pristine reputa tion as the arbiters of truth and fact. We really like it when people take whatever we say as gospel and don’t cross reference it with any of the hundreds of contra dictory Wikipedia articles because it makes us seem a lot smarter.

At Of the Press we look forward to your continued readership and we will up hold our commitment to be ing the most reliable source of news on campus. We’re

The frst is simple – I’m old. Or at least, older than I once was. My freshman self likely would’ve dealt with the 8 consecutive hours of work on Monday and the busy days after that, and still had a decent reserve of energy come Friday eve ning. But my senior self (emphasis on senior) must be much more careful about how to expend this energy.

This is scary, because I’m 99.9% certain that life will get exponentially busi er in the coming weeks and months. Still, I’m thank ful to have this experience early in the semester, on a week that, in hindsight, will pale in comparison to the hectic weeks ahead. I

can adjust and plan more regular breaks to refresh periodically as each week progresses, so I’m not sing ing something like “Friday, I’m Sick and Tired of *in sert annoyances here*” by theButend.even if breaks are hard to come by, I’ve found several other sources of en ergy and motivation this week, which is my second key takeaway. I had sever al chances to catch up with friends and loved ones, some of whom I hadn’t seen in months, and after every conversation, I felt renewed and ready to tackle some thing I had to work on. As an introvert, I often forget the inspiration that can come from quality human interaction, so I am eternal ly grateful to these people for showing me this time andEvenagain.the smaller things, like taking an early morning walk to my favorite park, or fnding a new album to lis ten to and hearing one of its songs mention the street I lived on over the summer, flled me with belief and joy even as I struggled with fatigue. It seems that moti vation is all around looking to be found, singing “I don’t care” about all the weekday craziness, like in the Cure song. I hope to keep all of this in mind as I get even deeper into this semester.

BY The

so reliable in fact you might as well not read literally anything else. In fact, as I continue my stream of con sciousness rant disguised as a formal message, I’m going to ofcially announce Of the Press’s campaign to eliminate all forms of competing journalism. You can make donations to my personal Venmo, or write me a check. We do not ac cept credit cards because we don’t understand com pound interest and we think credit cards are decidedly uninteresting. I can’t wait to forget I announced this and start getting mystery transactions sent to me by the entire school. I promise to use all of it to further the noble cause of Of the Press and none of it for personal expenses.

Opinion | Arts and Culture

Asgrimur Jonsson

BY GELLERITAI‘26

Before the coronavirus pandemic began, my family and I took a trip to Iceland, one of the most topograph ically diverse places on the planet. We spent about two weeks traversing the en tirety of the island, driv ing around the country in search of as many interest ing sites as possible. Lucky for us, this didn’t take much time because pretty much the instant we left the air port, one could easily say that we “weren’t in New Jer sey anymore.” On one side of

SPOILER ALERT

the road, you witness a fat and barren volcanic land scape, steam wafting out of the crevices from geother mal activity. On the other side, a lush mountainous plain greets you. Sheep free ly graze beneath the shad ows of the waterfalls, which spew from the clif edges. Sounds amazing right? Trust me, it is. However, there is one troubling thing about this vast oasis. Thanks to its unique geographical land scape, Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. This means that if you are an aspiring Stute columnist who writes about artists, your options are slim. Lucky for you, Wikiart exists, and you happen upon Asgrimur

AsgrimurJonsson.Jonsson was an Icelandic impressionist painter who was the frst Ice landic artist to make art his main occupation. Jonsson was born in 1876, and in his younger years, acquired a

traditional artistic education at the Royal Danish Acad emy of Fine Arts in Copen hagen. He went on to make a name for himself in the 1900s with his impressive naturalist and impressionist pieces. He was inspired by the works of the Romantic movement, which empha sized the preservation of the natural world, expression of individual perspective, and emotional freedom. These ideas are visibly represented in his work, specifcally in his depictions of remarkable Icelandic landscapes. Al though one may be more in clined towards Renaissance era landscapes, which are heavily detailed and focus on true form, I personally prefer Jonsson’s approach, which is more abstract and places an emphasis on natu ral light and color.

The reference painting presented above is my favor ite work by Jonsson, Winter Sun in Hafnarfjörður. The

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

BY GARDELLACOLE‘24

The frst time I watched Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, it was a school night in late January of 2014. My fa ther and I were skimming through the free selection of movies in the on-demand section of our cable box when the flm’s title became highlighted on the screen. We saw that it had Michael Cera in it, who we both knew from his roles in Su perbad and Juno, and were in the mood for a comedy, so we turned it on, with nei ther of us having any strong expectations in either a positive or negative way.

When the flm concluded, we were both pleasantly surprised at how much we enjoyed it. The frst aspect of the flm that will quite literal ly pop out at you is the vi suals and its overall style. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is written and directed by Edgar Wright, one of my personal favorite directors, and if you are at all familiar with his work you will know to expect witty humor and fast-paced editing, as evi dent in his other works such as Baby Driver and the tril ogy of comedies he made with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. The movie is meant to take place in a world similar to that of a video game, with pop up messag es, superpowers, and lots of fashy colors throughout. The extravagant manner in which the flm is presented could have very easily been annoying or overdone, but Wright fnds a way to bal ance the editing with the story in a way that is both

logical and entertaining, ef fectively using the universe our heroes interact in as a character itself.

The other part of the flm that I thought was done particularly well was the characters. As I previous ly mentioned, the setting of this flm is essentially a video game, so as you can imagine the characters are all very unique. Aside from our titular protagonist that is masterfully portrayed by the ever-awkward Cera, the flm has a number of actors and actresses who were just a few years away from their breakout roles, namely Brie Larson, Anna Kendrick, and Chris Evans. Having such a star-studded cast can sometimes lead to cer tain actors feeling like they were underutilized due to a lack of screen time, but once again Wright is more than up to the task, bal ancing the cast and having all the actors play to their own respective strengths, almost always to great co

reason this piece caught my eye is because I couldn’t re late to it in any way, regard less of my experience in the country. As I mentioned, I visited Iceland about three years ago during the sum mer. I never witnessed the Icelandic landscape veiled in a blanket of snow, so it’s truly incredible to see it through Jonsson’s eyes be cause he does an outstand ing job portraying the thick texture of the snow without turning the landscape into a giant white mess. The con tours of the mountains are still clearly defned, and you can even see the smoke com ing from a local chimney, the construction of a ship’s smoke stacks in the harbor, and the foliage of the rocks in the foreground. Also, strangely enough, I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed an Icelandic sunset. Thankful ly, Jonsson has got me cov ered. Impressionist paint ers are known for painting

in the natural world rather than in the comfort of their studios, so it is likely that the sunset depicted in Jons son’s piece is not his frst. This is also visible by his absolute mastery of the sun set’s elaborate color scheme.

I see a unique mixture of yellow, orange, blue, white and red hues, yet somehow it still forms a coherent and

identifable shape. The re fection of the sunset on the lake intensifes the realism of the piece, giving it life. The sunlight casts the town and its surrounding hills in a fery clay, adding a dark earthiness to the piece. I’m ofcially converted. I don’t know about you guys, but I have already purchased my plane ticket…

The protagonist in any crime or detective nov el follows the stereotype of being a male detective who devotes his career to catching the antagonist in hopes of validation from himself or others while learning a lesson on how to embody the unbreak able masculine persona. It is also important to note how the stereotypical crime novel strictly fol lows a good-cop bad-cop plot, without letting the reader develop a connec tion with the characters. Simply put, none of the characters have a specif ic exigence of committing to the role of being who they are, except just to be

present. Along with rigid characterization, crime novels tend to incorporate a betrayal that is the in evitable turning point in the protagonists’ journey in which the protagonist gains more life experi ence and the relationships within the story change. Every author carries this plot differently, but most authors do not introduce the reader to a relatable character, protagonist, or antagonist.InStephen

King’s crime novel Billy Sum mers , King introduces an invigorating perspective on the genre of crime, creating novels where the antagonists, who seem like “monsters,” are more human than the reader realizes. Slightly turning away from his horror and thriller roots, King intro duces us to Billy Summers, a veteran turned assassin whose last job draws the line between himself and everything he knows, put ting his own life and mor als at risk. In other words, kill or be killed. Coming from a troubled past—

from foster homes to the trauma of being a war veteran—Summers loses a sense of self after being a sniper in the Iraq War, becoming an assassin af ter a fellow veteran sug gested the idea with the use of his “connections.” King establishes a classic “one last job” noir setting where the stakes skyrock et the moment Summers agreed to take the job, in stantly entering menacing territory with ill omens, realizing that this job is the inevitability that will test him as a broken in dividual and his relation ships. Summers’ closest relationship at the time was brutally tested, Sum mers being betrayed by the man he “trusts” most, his boss, Summers learn ing that he was supposed to be eliminated after his last case, his death being the planned parallel. Es caping his enemies while finding himself, Sum mers discovers that the unsuccessful planned as sassination that awaited him, but to no avail, was a loose end on a deeper

medic efect.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is easily one of the more unique movies I’ve seen in my lifetime, and because of that, it’s not nec essarily everyone’s cup of

tea; after all, it did fail to make its budget back at the box ofce. However, as with most movies with a cult fol lowing, the flm eventual ly found its audience after reaching home video, and

I highly recommend you at least give it a shot if you’re looking for a comedy with a lot more style than usual without the need to sacri fce any of its substance.

chain involving gangster patriarchy and trauma.

The uniqueness of Summers’ character lies within the fact that he is a master of faces and character, mastering how to develop as an individ ual while letting those he thought supported him believe he is an oblivious tool. While a top-notch assassin, establishing quite the thriller and giv ing a bold impression, Summers is relatable in a sense where he regains a sense of self and empow erment, understanding what kind of person he really is and who he ac tually wants to be. Ulti mately, through betrayal and hurt, Summers fac es himself in hopes of a better future. Ironically, humans are the monsters in the novel, for the emo tions and purpose of each character become increas ingly brutal and immoral. The beauty of the novel is that Summers depends on character development, causing the novel as a whole to depend on char acter growth. With that

being said, to what extent do we as fellow roaming humans on this Earth, re late to a broken assassin? Billy Summers by Stephen King

PHOTO COURTESY OF AMAZON.COM

PHOTO COURTESY OF AMAZON.COM

Aesthetics & architecture: the dining halls

something, so I might as well have fun trying every spot. Recently, we’re usu ally going into the dining halls, as we’ve decided to save money and not spend all our Duckbills on sushi before the second semes ter even begins.

ent beverages for me and my roommate last night.

SUSTAINABILITY Why I hate recycling

The vibe, comfort, and different feelings of col lege can be a lot, yet the random things stick out to me, and taking note of it all has been fun. Since moving in, I naturally found different places and I secretly obsess over find ing more and more places as I go. Other than the left lookout on Castle Point—a place for a therapeutic de brief—and Central Park— specifically when there’s a concert to listen to for free—I have also enjoyed critiquing and seeing the different spots to grab food around campus.

As my roommate and I figure out where to eat, we don’t really care for the food when it comes to dining options. They’re all fair game. We use it as a way to get up and do

With Pierce Din ing Hall, what I actual ly thought was named the “Howe Center Din ing Hall” until recent ly, the high chairs to the left and the sideways ta bles in between are par ticularly enjoyable. The height of those chairs just makes the experience ten times better. The aura of the whole place is lively without being too much. I enjoy people-watching and the windows looking out to the city are always pretty. This is an import ant factor as we just sit and talk about everything and everyone. At first, this was the only dining hall we were comfortable with, but eventually, we found others.Similarly is the tower’s dining hall, as I found the space intriguing as it gives you a space in between your classes to sit down. At the UCC Marketplace, I ordered just 6 differ

There is a buzz around the halal option, but as I am used to eating at ha lal-specific places, I’ve tried their other options. Twice in the marketplace, getting egg & cheese sand wiches, as well as tacos, have been found to be just what was needed. All in all, the tower experience is exciting as it really does have the best view located on campus and the light ing is perfect for quickly doingAnyonework.who’s been in America’s Cup knows it gets busy, but also that the comfort of the whole envi ronment is never failing. While the marketplace can have lighting that is too bright at times, this cafe gives a definite hometown Starbucks feel. The egg and cheese sandwiches are mainly all I have expe rienced here, I have heard that many of their cof fee and drink choices are loved. I do recommend, if you’re not in the mood to sit down, to swing by and grab a chocolate croissant and head to a microwave to make it a million times better.Second, but definitely

not overlooked, is a brown ie from the new Sweet Shoppe. It is fuel to get us walking from our dorm at any hour, even from Cas tle Point Hall. The sweet shop’s employees must know us by face now that it has gotten to the point where I have gotten their churros as a substitute. Recently, I found out they have something similar to Rita’s (the “blend sip & chill” station), and my in ner child got excited.

Finally, a most recent find: the smoothies at Gateway South. They are a blend of what you need to refresh your mind and system in the morning. I got it for my Monday. as I don’t have class until late, and it made me feel great. I needed it before heading to lunch. It was the first time I had been in that area of campus since my tour as a senior in high school. The lecture room is enjoyable as an onlooker as I imagine it to be lively, and the ability to be there when there isn’t a class sounds fun. As a freshman art student, I have yet to have anything scheduled in these areas, so having an excuse to walk build ings is just what I look for.

BY BLOOMERKATIE‘25

As a kid, I thought that I was an environmentalist because I turned of the lights when leaving a room, used a reusable water bot tle, and recycled. It turns out that these things are the absolute bare minimum and the diference they make could be seen as neg ligible in the grand scheme of things. Recycling is like a Band-Aid, it might reduce the chances of things get ting worse, but it does not actually solve the problem. At least Band-Aids are a visual reminder that there is something wrong, while recycling acts as more of a camoufage, completely disguising the bigger issue.

been conserved by using a reusable bottle. The same goes for paper, glass, and practically anything else that we mindlessly throw into those green bins.

In addition to the fact that recycling isn’t as im pactful as we would like to believe, we often do it wrong which makes the problem even worse. A dis turbingly high percentage of the population engages in “wish cycling” which is the act of putting non-recy clable items in the recycling anyway with the hope they will be recycled. About 25% of recycling is contaminat ed, which results in more money being spent sorting, lower quality levels, broken sorting machines, and even unsafe working conditions.

BY ZOE HACK

As assignments begin to amass and classes start to ramp up, the age-old struggle returns: how to effectively manage your time. I feel particular ly unlucky this year be cause, among all six of my classes, every assignment I have is due right in the middle of the week—when I’m already plenty busy with classes. Belonging to a relatively small major (math majors represent!) and taking classes for two minors simultane ously, I don’t really have much room for flexibility in my schedule because there’s pretty much only one section of each of my

classes. For this semester, that means I have only two classes on Mondays and Wednesdays which are at the same general time, and a whopping to tal of five hours of classes on Tuesdays and Thurs days, with most classes being consecutive. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I feel especially mentally exhausted and not at all productive to the point where I struggle to pro duce any quality work. I normally struggle to give myself credit for all the effort I put into every thing I do, but when it comes to scheduling my weekdays for maximum productivity, it is import ant to keep in mind that it is absolutely acceptable to set some days aside to rest.The way that I man aged my time last semes ter is going to look totally different than how I do it this semester. While re-configuring my study schedule from semester to semester can feel te

dious and annoying, it is a great way to check-in with myself and make sure that all of my goals are at tainable for the semester. In general, for each se mester, I try to spread out my studying and home work more on days where I have fewer classes and give myself a little more leeway on days that are more

Forclass-heavy.thissemester spe cifically, I am dedicating Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays to be my more work-heavy days since I spend less time in class and am able to give myself some free time af ter both class and study ing/homework. Because all of my assignments are either due Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, I also try to get as much done over the weekend as possible so I don’t have to start off the week stress ing to finish assignments in time. Additionally, I try to break up larger homework assignments to make finishing them

more feasible. For exam ple, if I have 12 problems left for one homework and 4 days until it is due, I try to complete 3 problems a day, so I’m completing the work a little at a time instead of all at once and under a lot of pressure.

To keep any sort of time management schedule, it is important to have a co hesive calendar (or two). To visualize where my time is spent throughout the week, I like using an hourly calendar so I can physically see how much time is spent where and make sure that I am not spreading myself too thin. I also have an aclassesmanagethethefewWhileselfpointsandpleteliningcalendar/planneracademicforoutwhenIwillcomcertainassignmentssettingupcheckandgoalsformythroughouttheweek.italwaystakesaweekstogetusedtonewsemester,takingtimetoconsciouslyyourtimemakesandtheworkloadlotmorepalatable.

If recycling is actually not so great, then why do people do it? As humans, we like to feel that we are doing good and recycling is advertised as the end all solution to the massive amount of waste that peo ple generate. Think about the classic green triangle with arrows and the catch phrase “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.” It is the only envi ronment related thing that is taught in nearly every elementary school because it is seen as the only solu tion needed. Classrooms across the country are unit ed by the small green bins that sit in the corner of the room. After years of seeing these bins, this pesky lit tle symbol has infltrated our brains and flled up the entire space reserved for caring about the earth. If I could weed this symbol out of each individual person’s brain I would. Maybe that would allow us to spend more time and energy mak ing changes that will truly have an impact.

So, why isn’t recycling a great solution? The pro cess of recycling a bottle requires stafng to collect and sort the bottles, ener gy to melt them down, and machines to reform them into something new. This does total up to be less resource intensive than creating a new bottle, but nevertheless, it still uses resources that could have

You must be wondering, Katie, do you recycle? Of course I do! Even though it is an imperfect system which masks a problem, recycling beats the alter native which is sending everything directly to the landfll. When possible, I choose package free or compostable options rather than recyclable, but I will always choose recycling over trash. For package free options, check out re fll shops or local farmer’s markets. Vendors tend to sell things like soap with out any packaging whatso ever, so you don’t need to worry about recycling or composting any materials.

Online shops also ofer sus tainable products, but ship ping can unfortunately use quite a bit of packaging.

Although I am not op timistic that recycling will save us from the climate crisis, improvements to the process could potentially give a boost to the spirits of environmentalists and lead to further actions taken by those who are intrigued by the sustainability move ment. Sometimes it just comes down to sustainabil ity culture. People need to have the desire to save the planet or nothing meaning ful will ever get done. No matter how many bottles we recycle it won’t matter if they are still produced at massive rates. This is your sign to invest in a reusable water bottle, stop wish cy cling, and look into more impactful ways to help the environment. If we want to see any progress against the climate crisis, we need to work together to change the way things are done, starting with our own ac tions.

a no-brainer, I know that a lot of people interested in Greek life might hesi tate because of the time commitment and intensi ty of the rushing process. While I have never gone though the process of join ing a fraternity or sorority, I know that many who do find it very rewarding.

The first step is to go to as many rush events as possible and see what you like. Narrow your search down between the social, cultural, and service or ganizations based on what you are looking for, and then narrow down which specific groups you want to know better. If you are still worried about the commitment level, you

could look into club alter natives. If you like the ser vice frats, you might want to join some community service clubs like SAVE or Habitat for Humanity. If you like the social aspect of frats and sororities, maybe consider joining the Entertainment Com mittee.Ifyou decide that you do want to join a Greek life organization, take your time to find the perfect fit, go to events, and meet the current members and even alumni. Do keep in mind that you can always wait. I know people that waited until their junior or even senior year to join and still had a full and fun experi ence. Good luck!

BY KLESCHINSKYETHAN

Man… don’t let me do your thinking for you, I can barely think for my self. I am an advice col umnist, not a life coach. Giving out advice like this is above my pay grade, but I’ll do my best.

Joining Greek life is a huge commitment that

you have to decide for yourself if you are inter ested in what it has to offer. Fraternities and sororities have a lot to offer in terms of friend ships, connections, and activities, but are also a massive commitment of both time and effort that you have to be ready for. If you are unsure of what you want to do, I would recommend going to events and meeting peo ple before making a defi nite

Theredecision.are many dif ferent organizations with many different identities and personalities, so it is a good idea to keep your options open. Be yourself

and go to different fra ternities and sororities events to see which you like the most and hopeful ly they will also like you. I tried joining a sorority once and that didn’t go so well for me, so I hope that you have better luck than me. If you are a fresh man, you will have a lot of time to make your de cision because you aren’t technically able to join an organization until your second semester. So, this is probably the part of the advice where I am sup posed to tell you to have fun and good luck!

Recently, Stevens held an event called Meet the Greeks where students in terested in joining Greek life got to meet and learn about the different frater nities and sororities on campus. While Greek life is exciting, and for some people, getting involved is

LIFESTYLE HACKS

REPORTERROVINGPulse

“What do you do when you see a lanternfy?”

Elizabeth Bruski ‘25 into the towers I try not to step on them.”

Aya Zaatreh ‘24 “Stomp on it.”

Ben Stoll ‘24 “Stomp. Automatically.”

Isibeal Snowhill ‘26 “Step on it.”

Cameron Conway ‘23 “Oh, squash.”

Bryan Solano ‘24 “I kill it.”

Nick Smith ‘25

“I am morally opposed to killing it so I don’t.”

Jimmy Johnson ‘25 “They’re kinda aggressive sometimes. I try to avoid them.”